The Cobbers memorial, Fromelles, France. In the aftermath of the July 19-20, 1916 Battle of Fromelles, hundreds of wounded Australian soldiers lay in No Man's Land. For three days and nights these wounded were carried to their trenches. Among the soldiers bringing in the wounded was Sergeant Simon Fraser of the 57th Battalion, who heard a soldier call, 'Don't forget me, cobber.' With others, Fraser brought back this and another wounded man. © 2013 John M. Shea
Cobbers
"The assault began on the late afternoon of July 19, preceded by a day-long artillery barrage. The first Australian casualties were caused by their own shells falling short, and by some heavy German artillery fire. When the attack began, the German machine guns in the salient opened fire: the artillery had failed to silence them.An hour after the first men had gone over the top, General Elliott reported: 'Every man who rises is being shot down. Reports from the wounded indicate that the attack is failing from want of support.' The wounded were streaming back. A British attack on the other side of the salient was also driven back with heavy British casualties."
Fought on July 19 and 20, 1916, the Battle of Fromelles, French, was a relatively small engagement fought 30 miles north of the ongoing Battle of the Somme, but one in which the Australians suffered heavily.
The First World War, a Complete History by Martin Gilbert, pp. 267-268, copyright © 1994 by Martin Gilbert, publisher: Henry Holt and Company, publication date: 1994
1916-07-19, 1916, July, Fromelles, Battle of Fromelles, Cullen
